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A father and his children were driving outside town. They passed a landfill and the
children asked “What was all that stuff piled up?” The father answered them that this is what
eventually happens to all our things: birthday presents,
Christmas gifts,cars, furniture,bikes, everyday items that wear out or we get
tired of. They all were amazed at the
amount of possessions in our lives.
There is a spiritual question that we continually have
to answer concerning our things:
“What do we do with all that we have/ How much is enough?
“
That leads to our license plate sighting for today: ENUF.
Our Gospel story from Luke
is one of Jesus most powerful images because of the finality of the
message. We picture here a man who is
very comfortable in his lifestyle. All of his needs and his wants are being
met. He looks forward to acquiring even more for his own enjoyment. God calls
this man a fool because this will be his last day of life. He will have no more
opportunities to enjoy himself. Also he
will have no more opportunities to respond to the needs of others. Spiritually,
he dies a poor man.
The point is not that it was sinful for him to be a wealthy productive person who prospered. The
problem is that he was self- centered and he hoarded all that he
had. Did you notice how many times he
speaks of me, myself and mine ? His
selfish perspective smothered his soul.
Jesus said:“Watch out – be on guard against all kinds of
greed. Life does not consist of abundance of possessions.”
This story does make me feel uncomfortable.
I believe it is not meant to make us feel guilty about all
the resources that we may have; this story was told to help us see the
opportunities we have to give and to be generous people. To feel grateful towards God and then bless
others with the abundance that we have. To not wait to give because the
opportunity is now.
Arthur Simon, founder of Bread for the World said that we can become so “ preoccupied with keeping
what we have or getting what we do not have, the needs of others fade from our
thoughts.”
Let's think about the opposite of the rich fool, and call
the imaginary character Generous George.
George look at his life as being like a full basket.
-He realizes that he has enough, more than enough. He has
extra in his life. More than enough
things, more than enough money, more than enough time. He has something to draw from.
-He considers his possessions as being not just for him. He is always looking
towards the needs of others. and for ways to give. He likes to challenge
himself to give more than he planned, to give more than he thinks that he can.
-He is listening to see if he can help meet a need of a
neighbor, a friend, or even someone around the world. Giving is not a burden to George but a joy.
In Lafayette
Indiana, St. John's Episcopal Church
hosts what they call Jubilee Christmas. The folks of the church collect toys
and clothes so that in December parents
in need can shop to get presents for
their children. Some parishioners look for items year round for this mission.
On the pastor's blog he told about the family of Jean
Jones. They brought in the toys that their mom had collected so far. ( see in
picture) Jean died unexpectedly this
summer. At Jean's funeral the stack of presents were a visible reminder of what
Jean treasured: the children of her community.
Obvious reminder that what
survives us is what we have done for others.
When Jeff and Andre Shinabarger moved into their Atlanta neighborhood, they did not know how
their lives would be changed by a homeless man named Clarence who rang their
doorbell and welcomed them to the neighborhood. His perspective on things gave
new insights to this young couple. Their
friendship with him changed they way they regarded their possessions.
To him, their small house was a palace. I highly recommend
their book More or Less for
private study or in a group. In so many
ways they tried to grapple with what God wanted them to do with their stuff,
their money, their time, their daily routine.
In creative ways they chose to
have less so others could have more.
One activity in their book is to take an simple inventory of
your closet and ask:
How much do I have?
How much do I need? What can I do with the excess? When?
You can do this same inventory concerning anything that you
own. What all do I have and what do I need? What will happen with the extra?
When we moved two years ago, I found out again how attached
I am to things, my possessions.
Over and over I had to answer“What am I hanging on to that
God wanted me to give away? What do I
have sitting around that is needed by someone else and would make a difference in their lives?”
Stephen King is the master author of scary stories and he
has chillingly scared movie audiences
and readers. Some years ago he was the commencement speaker for Vassar College.
On that day he tried not to scare the young graduates but challenge them to see
that they had a window in their lives when they had the power to do good. Two
years prior to this speech, King had been severely injured in an accident where
he was hit by a car as he walked on roadside. He refers to this accident in his
speech:
“ A couple of years ago I
found out what “you can't take it with you” means. I found out while I
was lying in a ditch at the side of a country road...on that particular day and
in the months that followed, I got a painful but extremely valuable look at
life's simple backstage truths. We come in naked and broke. We may be dressed
when we go out, but we're just as broke. Warren Buffet? Going to go out broke. Bill Gates? Going out
broke... All the money you earn, all the stocks you buy.. all of that is mostly
smoke and mirrors...So I want you to consider making your life one long gift to
others. And why not? All you have is on loan, anyway. All that lasts is what
you pass on... A life of giving-not just money, but time and spirit- repays. It
helps us remember that we may be going out broke, but right now we're doing o.k.
Right now we have the power to do great good for others and for ourselves. So I
ask you to begin giving.. Only yours to
give for a short while.” Stephen King's words were to Ivy League graduates who will
probably earn lots of money. His plea is
applicable for all of us as we consider our possessions and their purposes.
Gary Moore is a financial consultant that helps Christians
manage their finances. He is asked often “How much should I give? What should be the percentage/
perimeters? “
He likes to smile and answer: “Well, that depends. How happy
to you want to be?”
What abundant treasures we have been given by God! What joy we will experience when in the end
we give an account to God for what we did with all our blessings!
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